Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Trims Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,284 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $335,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,256,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $9,235,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP raised its position in Aflac by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 15,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after buying an additional 7,524 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $112.44 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $61.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.71. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $79.31 and a twelve month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.